Commercial and government entities increasingly consider alternative means of getting payloads to orbit in order to save time and money. Hosted payloads are used by those seeking to have capabilities in orbit without having to pay the cost of building and launching an entire spacecraft. A hosted secondary payload is a module with mission-specific circuitry attached to the spacecraft, which operates independent of the spacecraft's primary payload, but shares the spacecraft's resources such as a power supply. This concept is sometimes referred to as “piggy backing” and can reduce both the expense and time required to get capabilities into space.
The spacecraft typically includes a host bus housing the primary payload, such as a communications satellite, and a propulsion system. The secondary payload is then mechanically and electrically connected to the host bus with a complex wiring harness. The resources of the host bus are therefore shared between the primary and secondary payloads. However, the host bus and the secondary payload are typically manufactured by different entities. Therefore, the wired harness results in numerous customized connections that not only add weight to the spacecraft but also add time and expense to the manufacturing and launching of the spacecraft.
It is with respect to these and other considerations that the disclosure herein is presented.